Seiso Academy Exchange
by taisa08
Summary: The Seiso music contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?
1. Bouncy Balls and Ice Chunks

The Seiso music contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?

I'm not sure where this story takes place in the general storyline of La Corda d'Oro.

Rated T for future chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda d'Oro; I am just another crazy fan girl of Tsukimori Len!

Bouncy Balls and Ice Chunks

Seiso Academy: Welcome to Del Oro High School!

Kahoko smiled as she read the sign being enthusiastically held by a group of laughing students. She leaned over towards Shouko, who was glancing out through a window on the other side of the van, and pointed towards the sign. Shouko gave Kahoko a shy grin.

"Aren't you just so excited?" Kazuki exclaimed. Ever since they had arrived at the airport and gotten into the van, Kazuki had practically been bouncing off his seat in excitement. "I hope I get along with my host student and his family! Do you think I will? Do you think they'll like me?" He looked slightly worried.

Azuma laughed. "You'll do fine Kazuki."

"Seriously, you get along with everyone," Ryo said. He shot a sideways glance towards Len. "It's that guy who should be worried."

Len stared at Ryo. "Why should I be worried? We're simply here for a cultural musical exchange. I'm quite confident _I_ can handle it."

The two guys glared at each other as the van came to a halt. Kanazawa turned to face the students from his passenger seat. "Alright: grab your bags from the back and follow the Del Oro students. They're going to take you into their band room where we'll get further instructions."

Azuma slid the van door open and they all piled out. Ryo opened the back and began pulling out bags. "Here, this one's Shouko's. This one's Kazuki's. Here's Keiichi's. Azuma's. Kahoko's. And … Len's …"

Kahoko swung her bag over her shoulder and made her way towards the Del Oro students.

"Kahoko?" a girl asked. "You're Kahoko, right? I'm Jennifer! I'm the student who's hosting you! Welcome to California! It's so great to meet you in person! E-mails are only good for so much!" She gave her a hug.

Kahoko was a bit surprised at the sudden intimateness. Perhaps that was just the American way. She smiled and prayed her English would sound okay. "Hello Jennifer! It's nice to finally see you!"

Jennifer grabbed Kahoko's carry-on luggage. "How was your flight?"

"It was fine. I slept most of the time," she admitted.

Jennifer motioned to some of the school buildings. "What do you think of Del Oro?"

"It's really different then Seiso," Kahoko said, looking around. "You only have one-story classrooms, correct? We have multiple stories and," she glanced towards the roof, "we're able to practice and hang out on the roof. I don't think you can do that on your roofs."

"You can practice on the roof?" Jennifer asked in disbelief. "That's so awesome! I can't even imagine being able to go up to the rooftop." She glanced toward the rest of the Seiso students. "Let me guess: the green-haired guy bouncing all over the place is the trumpet player, right?"

"Yeah, that's Hihara Kazuki, well, Kazuki Hihara if we go by the American way of saying names. He's a third year trumpet player."

"Hey Alexis," Jennifer called to the girl standing next to her. "That bouncy green-haired guy is a trumpet player like us!"

"WHAT?? A trumpet player??" Alexis cried out. She ran over and gave Kazuki a giant hug. "Trumpet players rock! I'm a trumpet player too!"

A faint blush spread across Kazuki's face.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jennifer asked. "Are we overwhelming you guys by all these displays of affection?"

"It is different from what we're used to," Kahoko admitted. "But it's fine. Kazuki's a really fun guy so he probably doesn't mind much."

"Oh my god," Jennifer said suddenly. "Who is the blue-haired guy?"

"Len Tsukimori?" Kahoko asked. She felt a slight pang of jealousy. Why was Jennifer interested in Len?

"Len? Is that his name? Oh man, he is fine!" Jennifer breathed. Then she shook her head. "Let's get to the band room, shall we?"

The band room impressed Kahoko.

"Alright," Jennifer said. "Let's introduce everyone." She motioned towards the Del Oro students behind her. "Actually, every host student is a trumpet player," she grinned. "This is Ian, he's the trumpet section leader." She motioned toward a tall brown-haired guy.

"Ian! You're my host student!" Hihara exclaimed! The two guys shook hands. "It's great to meet you! How long have you played trumpet? Do you have any siblings? How about pets? Do you have a dog? What's your house like? Do—" Azuma cut him off.

"Calm down Kazuki. Give Ian some space to breathe," he chided gently.

Kazuki ducked his head in embarrassment. "Ahhh. Sorry 'bout that. I get excited real easy."

Ian laughed. "No problem. You remind me of Alexis." He jerked his head in Alexis' direction. "Don't ever make this one laugh because then she'll never stop."

"What?! I can stop!" she protested, bouncing up and down. "And I'm hosting Keiichi!"

"Playground," Keiichi mumbled, sticking out his hand. She reminded him of a ball being bounced by small children at a park. He wondered if she ever hurt herself from bouncing too much. Did she run into things when her bouncing got out of control?

Alexis started laughing hysterically. The rest of the Del Oro students groaned.

"Oh god," Ian complained. "Look what you've done! Now she's going to keep laughing for days!"

"Small children … bouncing balls … green grass …" Keiichi trailed off.

The Del Oro students stared at Keiichi.

"Is it just because of the flight, or is he always like this?" Ian asked.

"He's always like this," Kahoko confirmed. She was really starting to like the Del Oro students. Alexis reminded her of Kazuki. And Jennifer seemed really nice. She got the feeling they were going to be up all night talking.

Alexis gave a particularly high-pitched burst of laughter.

Kahoko noticed Len wince. She smiled to herself. This trip was going to be good for him.

"This is Brandon and his sister Jen," Jennifer continued.

"My full name is Jennifer, but it gets too confusing with two Jennifers in one section so I go by Jen while she goes by Jennifer," Jen explained.

"We have Shouko and Azuma," Brandon continued.

Azuma and Brandon shook hands. "Nice to meet you."

Shouko gave a small smile.

"This is Alex," Jennifer said, introducing the guy on her right. He had the goofiest looking hair Kahoko had ever seen. It was shoulder length and seemed to kind of float away from his head. "He's practically my brother."

"Hey," said Alex. "I believe I am hosting Ryotaro."

They shook hands.

"Pirates or ninjas?" Alex asked him.

"Uh, what?" Ryo said, looking slightly confused.

"Who would win in a fight between a pirate and ninja?"

Ryo looked a little skeptical. "A ninja?"

"Good answer," Alex said. He looked at Jennifer and grinned. "Green hair and a ninja lover. I like him already."

"Moving on," Jennifer said, returning Alex's grin while trying to ignore the sound of the squealing laughter from behind her, which had dropped an octave in pitch (_How does Alexis do that? _Kahoko wondered). "This is Scott."

"Yo," said Scott. "I have Len."

The two guys shook hands.

Alexis stared at Len's hair, her laughter all of a sudden gone. "Is that …your natural hair color?" she asked in awe. "That's amazing! Do you wear clothes that match your hair? Are most of your clothes blue? You know what'd be cool? If your eyes were blue too! Then your clothes could accent your hair and eyes! Oh! And do you like blues music? Since you seem so blue? Get it? Blues? Blue? Oh man I love this guy!"

Len gave Alexis a freezing look that turned all the water in a five-mile radius into solid chunks of ice. Kahoko struggled to stifle her laughter and noticed Azuma doing the same. Kazuki was practically rolling around on the floor clutching at his sides, heaving with barely muffled laughter. Ryo let out a snigger.

"Yes, it's my natural hair color," Len replied with a glare.

The glare was wasted on Alexis.

"Your hair too," she said, looking at Azuma. "Is that your natural color? Why is your hair so long anyways? Is that popular in Japan? Do the girls really go for hair that long? I've never a guy with such long hair. Do you ever get mistaken for a girl? Have you ever gotten gum stuck in it? Do you ever braid it? Do you have a sister? Is her hair longer or shorter than yours?"

Kahoko froze. Was Azuma going to unleash his true personality on this girl?

Azuma gave a slight smile. "My hair color is natural."

"Band room tour time," Jennifer announced, changing the subject.

Kahoko thought that was a good idea.

Jennifer motioned towards a set of doors on the wall. "This is what my teacher calls the backdoor, but which everyone uses as the front door."

"To the right of the 'backdoor' is the smallest practice room. It's almost a completely silent room, but not quite," Scott explained. "On a different note, we once tried to fit the entire trumpet section inside it."

"Did it work?" Kazuki asked, fascinated.

"Nope," Ian replied. "It was a total disaster."

"But it was fun!" Scott added, smirking. "We all crammed inside and Ian 'accidentally' got—"

"To the left of the 'backdoor' are some instrument lockers. They're the ones used by the brass instruments," Ian continued, interrupting whatever Scott was going to say.

Kahoko made a mental note to ask Jennifer about it later.

"The biggest ones are for the trombones, baritones, mellophones, and French horns. The smallest ones are for the trumpets," Jen explained.

She opened up a few trumpet lockers. "On the outside the lockers may look neat and clean, but behold the truth! We decorate the insides and store as much extra junk in them as possible."

Ryo and Shouko peered inside for a closer look.

"Nice," Ryo said. "The pictures and drawing are a good touch, but what's with the name tags?"

"Those are from various events we host at school," Alex explained. "We're all a bunch of pack-rats: we save everything!"

"Next to the brass lockers is another practice room. It's another one of those rooms that's almost soundproof," Brandon said. "This is the room where we practice together as a full trumpet section."

Azuma smiled. "It seems to fit everyone better then the smaller one."

"True story," Ian agreed, making Kahoko wonder about what happened to him in the smallest practice room.

"On the back wall are a few closets. The closest nearest to the practice room is the guard locker," Alexis explained.

"Guard?" Kazuki asked curiously.

"Color guard," Alex elaborated. "They're the ones who toss and spin flags, rifles, and sabres. You'll see tomorrow at practice."

"The other cabinets are for the percussion keyboards," Ian said. "They store the drum set as well."

"The room behind this huge mirror," Jennifer said, motioning towards the other wall, "Is another room for instrument lockers. These lockers house the woodwind instruments. Next to the lockers are some shelves that hold the drums used for marching: snares, tenors, and basses. There's also a bunch of shelves for random storage."

"Random storage?"

"You know: mutes, paperwork, office supplies, chipmunks, small children …" Scott's voice trailed off. "The usual."

Shouko looked beyond confused.

"He's just kidding," Kahoko whispered to her.

"Next we have the recording room," Brandon announced. "This is a fully sound-proof room. It's used to … well … make music recordings. And the clarinets usually use it to practice as a section."

"What are the music recordings for?" Len asked.

"We make music recordings of band students for when they need to send in recordings to try out for statewide music groups," Ian explained.

Len nodded his head in understanding.

"Finally, this is the teacher's office," Jen said. "I would advise you to steer clear of it. Our messy lockers have nothing on that office. Nothing."

Kohoko took a quick peek inside. It looked like a small natural disaster had occurred within the last few days.

"And that's our band room," Jennifer said. "Hope you guys like it!"

"It's a very nice room," Azuma said. "It's clean and very well organized."

"You mentioned keyboards," Ryo said, "but do you have a piano?"

Scott snorted. "We have one in storage, but I don't know why we still have it. Our teacher keeps saying he's going to get rid of it, but he never does. If you want a real piano, I suggest using the choir's. It's relatively new and a heck of a lot better then our lousy excuse for a piano."

Kanazawa and the Del Oro teacher came out of the office.

"Welcome to Del Oro," the Del Oro teacher said. "My name is Mr. Edwards and I'm the band teacher here."

"I'm Mr. Kanazawa," Kanazawa said to the Del Oro group. "Thank you for having me and my troublesome students."

_Mr._ Kanazawa? Kahoko let the word play about in her mouth. It sounded weird and felt strange on her tongue.

"Well, you guys are free to go," Kanazawa said to his students. "Be nice to your host family and I'll see you tomorrow. And remember: you don't need your instruments until Tuesday!"

With a wave, Edwards and Kanazawa left.

"Are you guys tired? Do you want to go to your houses?" Ian asked. "Or do you want to go hang out somewhere? We could go get food or something."

At the sound of food Kazuki's ears perked up.

"I would prefer to—" Len's statement was cut off by Ryo.

"We would love to hang out. Most of us slept the whole time on the plane anyway," Ryo said.

"I know where to go!" Alexis exclaimed. "Let's go to the Wild Chicken!"

"The Wild Chicken?" Kahoko asked.

"It's a coffee and sweet shop," Jennifer explained. "It's really good and not that expensive."

"Sounds wonderful," said Azuma. "Shall we?"

_And so ends my first part of the story! How was it? Do you want more? Hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think! I'm not sure if I put in enough of the Seiso students' thoughts and feelings, but don't worry! They'll be more of their opinions and feelings next time!_


	2. Wild Chickens and Crazy Chicks

The Seiso contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?

I'm not sure where this story takes place in the general storyline of La Corda d'Oro.

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda d'Oro; I am just another crazy fan girl of Tsukimori Len!

Wild Chickens and Crazy Chicks

"So, have you guys ever seen a marching band?" Ian asked.

Len shook his head. "The closest I've ever come to seeing a marching band was watching the DVD performance of 'Blast'."

"I love 'Blast'!" Jen exclaimed.

The rest of the Seiso students shrugged.

"I've only read about them," Keiichi said, staring into the brownish depths of his drink. "Marching band seems to be … full of movement," he finished.

Kahoko saw Alexis' mouth open and braced herself for a laugh attack. She noticed Len grimace and clutch his drink with both hands.

"Oh my god!" Jennifer yelped. "Alexis! Look!" She pointed behind her. "It's Number 65!"

"WHAT?!" Alexis shouted excitedly. "Number 65? Where?" She glanced wildly all about her.

Alex gave Jennifer a high-five. "Nice save," he grinned.

"Number 65?" Azuma asked.

Scott sniggered. "It's her latest football player. Every year she picks a new number and is obsessed with the guy all year."

"Uh, what?" Ryo said, looking slightly confused.

"High school marching bands play at every varsity football game," Brandon explained. "Our school is no exception. Every Friday night we go to our football team's game and play for them from the stands."

"You have one this Friday night, right?" Kazuki asked excitedly. "I think Kanazawa mentioned going to one! I get to bring my trumpet and play with you guys! I'm so excited! Our school doesn't do anything like this!"

"Really?" Alex said. "What kind of stuff do you do with your school?"

"Well," Len said. "Our school is divided up into two sections: the general education section and the music section. The two sections rarely do anything together. In fact, we even have different uniforms. The music section is centered around music, while the general education section centers around the typical schoolwork and sports. Music students don't really have time for anything except music, which is how it should be."

He shot Ryo a glare, which Jennifer and Alexis did not fail to notice.

"You guys don't really like each other, do you?" Jennifer asked.

"I would say not," Alexis agreed.

The two girls met each other's eyes and sparks seemed to fly between them. They grasped hands and said together, "Operation Make Ryo and Len Into Bosom Buddies Has Now Officially Started!"

They broke their eye contact, fixed their stares on Len and Ryo, and let out an evil sounding chuckle.

Ryo leaned away from the girls. "Is that …normal for them? Should I be scared? Worried? What exactly are they going to do?"

Len gave him a frosty glare. "I do not know, but I would appreciate it if you didn't get so close to me."

By scooting away from the girls Ryo had unconsciously gotten closer to Len. He moved away from the disgruntled violinist.

Alexis smiled at Jennifer. "Look how easy it was to get them closer! By the time they leave they'll practically be brothers!"

Kahoko couldn't believe what these California girls were doing. She sniggered. This trip was going to be way much more fun then she had expected.

"Are you guys really close to the people who are in the same section as you?" Jen wanted to know. "I mean, we hang out together all the time. And even though Ian is our official section leader, Jennifer is our behind-the-scenes section leader. She makes us treat bags and writes us encouraging notes when we go to competitions and stuff."

"That sounds awesome!" Kazuki said. "But we don't do anything like that. I mean, I know the other trumpet players who are in the same groups as me, but we don't hang out or do stuff outside of music class."

Kahoko imagined Jennifer making her trumpet section treats. Yes, she could totally see that. Then she tried to imagine Len baking something for his fellow violin players and nearly choked on her blackberry Italian soda. First: it wasn't something Len would ever consider doing. Next: he would burn down his entire house trying to make something edible. And that was saying something (Len had a big house).

She could picture Kazuki doing something for his fellow trumpet players. She smiled. He would be so cute about it. She couldn't imagine any of the other musicians making treat bags.

"Next Sunday we're planning on going to the movies to see Speed Racer," Scott said.

"It's all Jennifer's idea," Alex explained. "She's madly in love with that Korean actor guy who's going to be in it."

"The rest of us are just going along to make sure she doesn't do something stupid," Ian said. "Like jump up and down and scream like a banshee when he makes his first appearance on screen."

"Or shout at him from her seat when everyone else is dead quiet."

"Or compare him in a loud voice to the guy who plays Speed Racer and get beaten up by Emile Hirsh fan girls."

Jennifer snorted at that one. "I could take 'em," she said confidently.

Through all the playful banter that went on between the Del Oro trumpets, Kahoko felt an incredible amount of love radiating from each of them. These people truly loved each other, and Kahoko sensed an unbreakable bond between them. She wondered if she would ever feel like that with her fellow music contestants. _Maybe this trip will help us be more like them_ she thought wishfully. These guys looked like they had fun just being in each other's company.

"We were actually hoping you guys would come with us," Jen said. "Would you like to come see it with us on Sunday?"

Kahoko's heart leapt. "I would love to!" she exclaimed. She glanced at Shouko, who hadn't said a word since they had gotten to the shop. "Doesn't it sound like fun?"

Shouko gave a shy nod and sipped at her tea.

Ryo and Kazuki grinned. "Count me in!" they both said enthusiastically.

Azuma nodded. "I would be honored." He looked over at Keiichi, who still appeared to be fascinated by his drink.

Keiichi looked up. "Bouncy balls, race cars, Rain …sounds like an adventure."

Kahoko glanced over at Len.

He opened his mouth to speak. "I—" and was promptly cut off by Alexis.

"Awesome! I knew you'd want to come!" she said happily. "There was no way you'd pass up a treat bag made just for the occasion by our very own Jennifer!"

Kazuki looked like he was about to die of excitement. "We get treat bags too? No way! Really? Oh my gosh, I am so … so … " He face disappeared into a huge grin and he slurped his drink happily.

"I love this guy," Alexis said, scooting her chair closer to Kazuki's. "Let's be best buddies for this trip, okay?" She offered her hand and they did some kind of complicated handshake thing.

"So tomorrow you guys are just going to come with us to all our classes," Brandon explained. "Nothing super musical planned except for watching us practice in the morning."

"Kanazawa mentioned that," Azuma said. "You guys have a rehearsal every morning as a full ensemble?"

"Yes," Jen replied. "Our classes are divided into the block schedule: fall term we have the same four classes everyday, and then in the spring we have four new classes which we go to every day. Each class is about an hour and a half. Marching band students however, have five classes in the fall. Marching band is our class before classes officially start. Actually, it's zero and first block."

"We get to school by 6:50am everyday," Alex continued. "We're usually up at the football field by 7am. The rest of the school arrives for class at 7:50am. Since marching band is zero and first block, we practice every morning until around 9am. Then we pack up and bring all our stuff back to the band room. We have a break until 9:35am and then we go to second block."

"Was that overwhelming?" Jennifer asked. "Was that too much information to handle at one time?"

"No, I got it," Kahoko said, processing what had just being said. The other Seiso students nodded in agreement.

"So we get to watch your morning band practice and then go to your non-band classes with you?" Azuma clarified.

"That would be correct," Alex answered.

"So," Alexis said promptly, and Kahoko anticipated a major change in conversation topic, "who is going out with who?"

Ryo, who had just taken a sip of his drink, choked. Len's ears turned a bit pink on the edges and Kazuki's face turned bright red. Azuma let out an amused laugh. Kahoko felt her stomach do something weird.

Keiichi and Shouko appeared to be off in their own little worlds.

"I knew it," Alexis said triumphantly. "There's some love going on between some of you guys!"

Ryo tried to regain his composure. "What about you guys?" he asked, making an attempt to slightly change the subject.

"I have a girlfriend," Brandon offered. "She's in the pit, meaning she plays keyboards."

"My girlfriend is in color guard," Scott said, drinking his coffee.

"I'm going out with a flute player," Alex said.

"I just broke up with my girlfriend," Ian said. "So I'm going to stay low for a bit."

"I'm in love with Kazuki and Len," Alexis said seriously.

Everyone stared at her. Both of Len's ears turned completely pink and Kazuki's face turned even redder, which Kahoko didn't think was possible. She'd seen Kazuki blush before, but she'd never seen Len's ears turn colors. It was kind of fascinating.

Jen groaned. "I am so bored at school with all the guys! No one stands out! There's no one for me to crush on at all!"

"I'm in love with Ian," Jennifer said seriously.

Everyone stared at her, Del Oro and Seiso alike.

"Uh, what?" Scott asked.

Kahoko sensed some drama coming up.

Alexis rubbed at her ears. "Did I hear you right, or do I have liquid in my ears?"

Ian looked like a deer in the headlights.

Jennifer kept her sober expression up for a few seconds, and then lost it.

"You didn't actually think I was serious, did you?" she said, wiping tears of laughter form her eyes. "Me in love with Ian? Man that's a good one." She turned to Alex. "I win that round! For my prize I want another cherry Italian soda."

Alex groaned. "Dang it, I didn't think you'd actually manage to pull it off. Everyone actually believed you for those few seconds." He sniggered. "I am never going to forget the looks on their faces." Still laughing, he left to buy her another soda.

"What just happened?" Azuma asked.

"Alex and Jennifer will make all these crazy bets with each other and then try to pull them off on us." Ian groaned. "We should have seen that one coming. We were due for another one of their bets anyway."

"Ryo did a nice subject change," Alexis whispered to Kahoko. "But don't think we won't bring it up again!" she grinned.

Alex returned and plunked down another soda in front of Jennifer.

"Thanks Alex," she said sweetly.

Alex just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Back at Jennifer's house, the two girls got ready for bed.

"This is your bed," she told Kahoko, motioning to the bed on the far left. "Hope you like the Harry Potter bed sheets," she grinned.

Kahoko smiled. "They're cool."

"So," Jennifer said, plopping down on to her bed. "What's the deal between you and Len?"

"What?" Kahoko asked, slightly surprised. Where had that come from?

Jennifer laughed. "Oh come on! He always seems so cold, and then you talk and he glances at you and his whole demeanor softens. Don't tell me you haven't noticed," she said smiling. "What do you think of him?"

_What do I think of him?_ Kahoko wondered. He was the first violin sound she had ever loved, and he had helped her so much (in his seemingly cold way) throughout the competition.

"Um," Kahoko began.

Jennifer stopped her. "Don't worry about trying to figure it out now. Just know that that guy has a crush the size of Texas on you." She smiled. "Len is so cute," she laughed. "He probably doesn't even realize he likes you."

Kahoko thought about that. "You're probably right," she agreed. "All he has on his mind is the violin. If anything else managed to get inside his head he probably wouldn't know what to do!"

"Kazuki is pretty adorable," Jennifer said. "He always seems so happy. I bet he's really fun to hang out with."

"He's very easy to hang out with," Kahoko replied. "And I think it's really funny how Alexis decided they're going to best friends for the course of this trip."

Jennifer laughed. "Alexis is so awesome. I love that kid."

"Kid?" Kahoko asked. Alexis seemed a bit too old to be called a kid.

Jennifer smiled. "I call all my trumpet friends kids. So do Ian and Alex, I think. It's a term of affection we use on everyone. We love each other so much. I'm really going to miss this family when the seniors graduate."

Kahoko didn't know what she was supposed to say to that.

"You guys are all so close. I'm sure you'll manage to keep in touch," she said.

Jennifer smiled. "I'm sure we will." Then she shook her head. "What am I doing? I don't want to talk about me! I want to talk about you! Well, I want _you_ to talk to _me_ about all those hot guys you came with! Give me some dirt on them … especially Len," she said with a fat grin.

Kahoko laughed and snuggled into her pillow. It was going to be a long night of girl talk!

_So? How was it? Was it as good as the first chapter, or did you like it better? The next chapter is going to contain a lot of just the Seiso students because they're going to be watching the Del Oro students practice! Until next time!_


	3. Medusa and Musical Madness

The Seiso contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?

I'm not sure where this story takes place in the general storyline of La Corda d'Oro.

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda d'Oro; I am just another crazy fan girl of Tsukimori Len!

Medusa and Musical Madness

"Pikachu! Pika Pika! Pika Pi! Chu Chu! Pikachu Pi!"

Kahoko bolted up. What the heck was that noise? Was that a … a … Pikachu?

The noise abruptly stopped and the light flicked on. She looked over at Jennifer, who had a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I forgot to warm you about my alarm clock. It's Pikachu," she said, stating the obvious as she held up a plastic Pikachu.

"It's okay," Kahoko said, flopping back down in her bed.

"You showered last night, but do you want another one now?" Jennifer asked.

"No, I'm good. I'll take mine tonight," Kahoko answered.

"Then you can laze around in bed for a little while longer," Jennifer said. "When I get out we'll get ready."

"Sounds good to me," Kahoko replied as Jennifer gathered some fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom. As she let her eyes close, a vibrating noise made them open again. Jennifer's phone was buzzing. She reached over and grabbed it. She didn't think Jennifer would mind if she picked it up. Who the heck was calling so early anyway? She looked at the ID and grinned: Alexis.

She picked up the phone. "Hey Alexis, Jennifer's in the shower. Want her to call you back when she gets out?"

"No, that's okay," Alexis said. "I was calling for you, actually."

"Me?" Kahoko asked in surprise. "Why?"

"It's Keiichi!" Alexis cried. "How do I wake him up?"

Kahoko laughed. "Um, I'm not really sure. Poke him maybe?"

Silence. Then: "I tried and he won't budge. Should I dump water on his head?"

Kahoko couldn't tell if she was being serious. "Put some food under his nose," she suggested.

"Great idea! Hang on a second."

She returned to the phone. "I am a freaking genius!" she proclaimed. "You know what I did? Do you even _know_ what I did? I stuck some of my Flaming Hot Cheetos in his nose!"

"You did what?" Kahoko asked, shocked out of her mind. "Stuck … in his nose? His nose? Cheetos?"

"Yup," Alexis said proudly. "Then he pulled them out, sniffed them again, and asked if I had any he could eat. I love this guy! We're like kindred spirits of Flaming Hot Cheetos!"

Kahoko couldn't believe it. This girl was unstoppable.

"Okay, thanks for your help Kahoko! I got to go now. Keiich and I are going to eat some Flaming Hot Cheetos." With a click she was gone.

"Who was that?" Jennifer asked, toweling off her hair.

"Wow! You take fast showers!" Kahoko exclaimed.

"It's a talent," Jennifer replied, smiling.

"That was Alexis. She wanted to know how to wake up Keiichi."

"Ahhh. The sleepy kid who always looks like he's somewhere else. What did you tell her?"

"To put some food under his nose."

"Did it work?"

"Well, she put the food in his nose, actually."

Jennifer burst into a fit of giggles. "Let me guess," she said between her chuckles, "she resorted to her Flaming Hot Cheetos."

"How did you know," Kahoko asked in amazement.

"I think Flaming Hot Cheetos are the only things she knows how to eat," Jennifer giggled. "How did Keiichi take it?"

Kahoko smiled. "He asked for some to eat."

"He now has a best friend for life," Jennifer said. "Alexis probably fell in love with him the second he asked for some to eat."

Jennifer glanced at the clock. "If we want to get to school on time we better leave soon. You don't mind walking, do you?"

"I usually walk to school," Kahoko said. "So walking is fine with me."

"Cool. I eat while I walk. Do you like Pop-Tarts?" she asked with a wicked grin.

* * *

Filled with band students, the band room looked like … well … Kahoko couldn't quite find any words to describe it. A zoo perhaps, where all the animals were left to roam wild outside of their cages.

Band kids were everywhere. Some were sitting chatting excitedly about something that had happened to them, others were reading. Some guys were lounged against the lockers. One guy was sprawled on the ground and appeared to be in a deep sleep. Kahoko wasn't quite sure how he could sleep through all the noise. Girls were using the huge mirror to fix their make-up.

"Oh my god," Kazuki breathed from right behind Kahoko. She gave a little jump; not realizing Kazuki was next to her. When had he gotten here? "I don't know any of these people, but I love them all already! This looks absolutely fantastically amazing!"

Kahoko turned and realized all her Seiso companions were behind her, and that Jennifer had vanished.

"We're supposed to wait outside until everyone settles down," Azuma explained, seeing Kahoko's questioning look. "Then we're going to be introduced to the whole group. And seriously," he added, just so Kahoko could hear, "take that ridiculously idiotic expression off your face before then!"

Kahoko sighed. This was the Azuma she knew.

Jennifer motioned them inside and they entered. "And here they are: the Seiso music students!" she announced to a huge round of applause.

"Please, introduce yourselves and tell us a little about you," Jennifer said.

"I'm Kazuki!" Kazuki blurted out excitedly. "I play trumpet and I am extremely happy to be here! Everyone looks so much fun!"

"He's a cutie!" a girl said from the back. Kazuki blushed.

"I'm Azuma," Azuma said with a small bow. Kahoko heard a few girls gasp. "I play flute and am honored to be here. I hope to enjoy my stay."

"My name is Ryo," Ryo said. "I play piano as well as soccer."

"I love your hair!" someone called out.

"I'm Sh-Sh-Shouko," Shouku stuttered out. "I play clarinet and …" her voice trailed off.

"Oh my gosh, she is so adorable!" a girl squealed. "I just want to pick her up and put her in my pocket!"

"Chill out Jessica," someone called. "Don't scare her away from your section before she's ever met you!"

Shouko blushed.

"My name is Len," Len said briskly. "I play violin."

"_Do you think he has a girlfriend?"_ a girl whispered to her friend from the back of the room, trying not to be overheard but failing miserably.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" another girl asked, directing the question at Len himself.

"No," Len answered, indicating by his tone of voice that that was to be the end of the girlfriend questions.

A dreamy sigh echoed throughout the room. Most of the girls thought Len's coldness was a major bonus to his good looks.

"My name is … Keiichi … I play the … cello … pleasure to be here …" Keiichi's sleepy voice flowed across the room.

"I want to put him in my pocket too!" yelped the girl Kahoko recognized as Jessica.

"Jessica, shut up!" someone groaned.

"You wanna a fight, Boots?" Jessica demanded, standing up. "I can take you!"

Boots sniggered.

"Sit down Jessica," someone yelled at her.

She sat down.

Kahoko smiled to herself. They sure were an animated bunch in the morning. She realized it was her turn to introduce herself.

"My name is Kahoko and I play the violin," she said.

"You play the violin too! Are you Len's girlfriend?" a girl asked excitedly. "That would just be so cute!" A few other girls nodded. They seemed to have forgotten Len had just said he didn't have a girlfriend.

The violin romance story flashed across Kahoko's mind. "No, we are not dating," she said.

The girls looked a bit disappointed.

"Alright, give our guests a break," Edwards said. "Grab all your stuff! We're moving up to the field!"

"Our show this year is Medusa," Ian said as they made their way up to the field. "You know, that Greek character?"

Kazuki nodded.

"How do you portray Medusa in your music?" Len asked.

"Our shows are pre-made," Scott explained. "The music is written to sound Greek and mysterious, and the marching sets are designed to tell the story of Medusa. Medusa is not only portrayed through the music, but through the marching and props as well."

Len nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. I keep forgetting you move while you play. It's very different from what we do back at home."

"Is it difficult to march and play at the same time?" Azuma asked.

"At first it can be a little tricky, but with practice you're fine," Brandon said. "Marching is just like walking, except you roll your feet and keep your toes pointed up every time you step forward." He demonstrated. "Here, you guys try," he said.

Kazuki pointed his toes up as he walked.

"Nice Kazuki," Jennifer said. "Now roll your feet more. It's got to be smooth."

"If it's not smooth then your body will bounce," Jen explained. "If your body bounces then you can't play your instrument because your mouth keeps moving."

"Like this?" Azuma asked. Alex glanced at his feet.

"Nice job," he said approvingly. "I think you've just about got it down."

Kahoko looked over at Len, who seemed to have it down. "Am I doing it correctly?" she asked him.

Len glanced down. "Roll your feet more."

"Keiichi's got it down!" Alexis said excitedly. She turned her head towards Shouko. "You're pretty good at this too Shouko," she smiled.

Shouko gave a shy grin. "Thanks," she said.

"And here we have our practice field!" Ian announced. "It's got a few holes and some spots are just nasty when it rains, but other then that it's alright."

"We have to go to warm-ups now," Jennifer said. "Feel free to sit on that bench over there and watch. Heck, feel free to walk around to different parts of the field to get a closer look. Just watch out when we're on the move," she grinned.

Kahoko laughed.

"Sounds good to me!" Kazuki exclaimed. The Seiso group went and sat on the bench while the Del Oro students warmed up.

"Their sound is quite nice," Len commented, listening to them warm-up. "They have a good balance."

Ryo eyed the keyboards warming up. "What do they called the keyboard section?" he asked. "What was that word?"

"Pit," Azuma supplied.

"Yeah, that's the word." Ryo watched them in amazement. "Look how fast they move their hands! And some of them have two mallets in each hand! That looks like a challenge! I wonder if it hurts their fingers," he said, still staring. "As similar as they seem, these keyboards look a lot different from the piano. I wonder if they'd let me play one later …" his voice trailed off as he continued to watch the quick motions of the players' hands.

"They don't have any flutes," Azuma mused, staring out at the field. "They just seem to have piccolos. I bet that's because it's easier to hear a piccolo on the field."

"Have you ever played the piccolo?" Kazuki asked Azuma curiously.

"Once or twice," Azuma replied. "I don't own one of my own."

Shouko was gazing intently at the clarinet players. "I wonder …" her voice trailed off as her mind followed her thoughts.

Keiichi was watching the girl leading warm-ups. "Her arm motions are so fluid," he said dreamily. "I wonder if she would be good with a string instrument. Perhaps she could teach me how she moves her arms … and maybe it would make my playing smoother …"

Kahoko looked at the girl Keiich was talking about. "What is she called?" she asked. "Something to do with a drum, I think …"

"Drum major," Len said. "Her job is to conduct the group as they perform."

"Sounds hard," Kahoko said.

"It is," Ryo agreed. "She controls the tempo on the field. Seems like that'd be a lot of pressure. She has to keep the whole group together."

Kazuki pulled his eyes away from the trumpet section and looked over at the color guard. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Look at them go! How do they do that? I wonder how heavy their equipment is. Do you think they'd teach me how to spin and toss a flag? What about the rifles? I want to touch a sabre too!"

Kahoko watched some girls spin a flag a few times, and then expertly toss them in the air. She was impressed when they all caught them.

"I think I'd be too scared of getting hit to ever toss a flag," she admitted.

Alexis trotted over. "Hey guys! We're going to do a full run through of our show now! I hope you enjoy it!" She ran back on to the field.

"I can't wait!" Kazuki exclaimed in anticipation.

The drum major climbed on to her podium and raised her arms.

"They're starting!" Kazuki hissed excitedly. "Oh man this is going to be great!"

* * *

"So, what did you guys think?" Jennifer asked after practice as they made their way back to the band room.

"That was amazing!" Kazuki cried. "I wish we did stuff like that!"

"The drum solo after the ballad was intense," Ryo said. "The pit moved their hands so fast to keep up! I can't believe they were all doing sixteenth-note runs at that speed!"

"I enjoyed the blending of music and marching to tell a story," Azuma said. "For our contest back at home each performance has a theme, and I'm kind of curious as to what a marching show would look like based off our themes."

"Fluid and graceful arm motions," Keiichi said with an blissful look on his face. "Fluid and graceful …"

"I enjoyed your performance very much," Shouko said. "It was beautiful."

Kahoko agreed. "Do you ever run out of air? It seems like this is a very physical activity."

"It take a lot of air," Jennifer said. "Actually, during some parts of the show one of us will stop playing and just work on getting their breath back. We do it subtly so no one in the audience will notice."

"I look forward to seeing more of your shows in the future," Len said.

"Oh my god! Was that a compliment? Len complimented us! Oh man!" Alexis squealed from behind. She and Jennifer gave each other a high-five. "Oh yeah!"

Kahoko was surprised to see a slight twitch on Len's mouth. If her eyes didn't deceive her, it almost looked like he was holding back a small, very slight smile. Len smile? She had only seen him smile maybe twice in the whole time she had known him. Maybe the California sunbeams (or girls) were softening him.

A bell rang.

"Ahh, time for brunch," Alexis said, shoving her trumpet into her locker. She grabbed Keiichi's sleeve. "Come get food with me from the cafeteria. We have to be quick. Brunch is only ten minutes and the lines for food can get long."

A group of girls formed around Len and Ryo.

"We heard all about you two," one girl said.

Len got a strangled look on his face.

"Excuse me?" Ryo asked.

"It's so tragic how you let that huge misunderstanding tear you apart," another one put in sadly.

"Misunderstandings?" Ryo choked out in confusion.

Len looked as though he were losing his cool.

"But don't worry, we're here to help mend the rift between you. You guys will be friends again in no time," a third added confidently.

Ryo and Len both turned to look at Jennifer. She glanced outside. "Wait for me Alexis! I'm coming with you to get food!" She bolted out the door. "I'll be back to get you for second block Kahoko!"

Len's mouth was twitching again, and the corners were definitely down.

Kahoko thought back to Len's almost smile and shook her head. She must have been seeing things.

_Oh man I love the Ryo and Len duo. They're so much fun to write about! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and get ready for the next one! The Seiso students are going to attend classes with their host students! Until next time!_


	4. Stuffing and Copy Machines

The Seiso contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?

I'm not sure where this story takes place in the general storyline of La Corda d'Oro.

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda d'Oro; I am just another crazy fan girl of Tsukimori Len!

My parents decided to take the family to visit some relatives far far away at a place with no internet (told me the day before we left) so that's the reason for the delay between chapters!

Stuffing and Copy Machines

"Welcome to Room 116," Jennifer announced, ushering Kahoko into the classroom. "Journalism: this is Kahoko. Kahoko: this is Journalism."

Kahoko was greeted by smiles and waves, and then the students went back to what they had been doing.

"Everyone in class has a computer to use," Jennifer said, explaining the reason for all the computers. She sat down in front of one towards the corner of the room. "This is my workspace," she told Kahoko, and then motioned towards the computer area next to hers. "You can use this one while you're here."

Kahoko dropped her bag and sat down. "I have a friend back at home who is in Seiso's journalism club. I'm going to have to tell her all about yours," she grinned.

"This is actually the first year Del Oro has ever had a class to create a monthly school paper," Jennifer said to Kahoko. "So we're pretty proud of our accomplishments," she smiled. "Do you want to take some copies of previous months we've published? Your friend might like to see them."

"That's a great idea! Yeah, if it's not too much trouble I'd love to take some back for her." Kahoko thought for a moment. "You, her, and Alexis would get along great together."

"Your friend must be pretty awesome then," Jennifer joked, making Kahoko laugh.

"Papers are here!" someone called. "Start stuffing!"

A huge groan just about shook the entire room.

"Stuffing?" Kahoko asked.

"Companies buy space in our paper to print advertisements," Jennifer explained. "But one company paid for a flyer to be put in every paper every month for the whole year instead of actually being printed in the paper." She rolled her eyes. "The money they paid is great, but it sucks having to put each flyer in every paper."

She left and came back with a stack of newspapers and a pile of flyers. "Ready to help me stuff?" she asked wickedly.

"Let's do it," Kahoko said as she rolled up her sleeves.

At first the two girls worked in compatible silence. Open newspaper, stuff a flyer inside, fold newspaper, throw on pile of stuffed newspapers, repeat.

"Silence is boring," Jennifer said suddenly, breaking the quiet of their work. "Talk to me about your Seiso friends."

"Only if you talk to me about your Del Oro trumpets," Kahoko retorted.

"An equivalent exchange," Jennifer mused. "I'm down with that." She folded a newspaper and added it to the growing stack. "I'll go first." She grabbed another newspaper to stuff. "Ian's favorite stuffed animal is his Tickle-Me-Elmo."

"What?" exclaimed Kahoko.

Jennifer shook her head. "No questions, just facts." She stuffed a flyer inside a newspaper.

Kahoko thought for a second. "Ryo is a star soccer player."

"Scott has a dent in his chest he likes to eat cereal out of."

"Azuma comes from a very traditional family."

"Alexis calls everything she doesn't know a thing-thing."

"Keiichi almost got hit by a car because was too busy reading to pay attention to where he was going."

"Alex will randomly wear a pirate costume to school even though he thinks he's a ninja."

"Kazuki has separate stomachs for dinner and dessert."

"Brandon goes crazy if he eats too many M&M candies."

"Shouko is really fun to shop with."

"All the pictures on Jen's phone are of her cat, Jasmine."

"Len works a part-time job as a host for a host club."

Jennifer dropped the newspaper she was stuffing. "Kahoko Hino! I said facts only!"

Kahoko sniggered. "I couldn't resist."

"Speaking of Len," Jennifer said. "Why don't he and Ryo get along? They're both really awesome guys."

"I think that's the first time Len's been described like that," Kahoko commented. "Ryo gets that every now and then, but Len? Nope. He antagonizes people. He does have his share of fan girls, but that's different. As to why they don't get along," she shrugged. "That's just how it's always been." She paused and then her curiousity got the better of her. "Are you and Alexis serious about turning those two into friends?"

"Oh yeah!" Jennifer cried, pumping her fist high into the air. "Ryo and Len better watch out because Jennifer and Alexis have never lost a challenge!"

"Hey over there! Less talking and more stuffing! I want to see your fingers stained with ink by the time you're done!"

"Slave-driver," Jennifer muttered, resuming her newspaper stuffing.

* * *

"Why do you have lunch so early?" Kahoko asked, as she and Jennifer left the Journalism classroom.

"Since the school is so big, there are two lunches. Half the school eats at 11:10am, and the other half eats at 12:45pm. What lunch you get depends on your third block teacher. My third block teacher has the first lunch, so I eat during the first lunch too." Jennifer explained.

"Do you have to eat in the cafeteria?"

Jennifer laughed. "No way. To be honest, in the three years I've been going to this school, I've never eaten lunch inside the cafeteria. It's too crowded and noisy. I eat with all the other band kids who have the same lunch as me over there." She pointed towards a bench underneath a tree.

"Who else has this lunch?"

Jennifer thought for a few seconds. "Um, of the people you really know, just Scott and Len" she said. "There are other band kids, but Scott is the only trumpet player with the same lunch as me."

Kahoko and Jennifer were some of the first ones to arrive at the eating area. They sat on the bench and took out the lunches Jennifer's mom had made for them. Scott and Len showed up and sat next to the girls on the bench.

"I love having a class near our lunch area," Scott sighed blissfully. "I always get to sit on the bench." He pulled out his lunch, and Kahoko noticed Len pull out a similar looking brown paper bag. She giggled. Len having a sack lunch seemed very comical.

"Oh," Scott said suddenly. "Hey Len, since I have an unscheduled fourth block my dad wants me to run some errands for him. You can come with me, or you can go to class with some of your friends."

"Come to my fourth block with Kahoko and me!" Jennifer said excitedly. "You and Scott are in my third block class anyway, so just follow Kahoko and me to my fourth block!"

"We have the next class with them?" Len asked Scott.

"Yup," Scott replied. "It's World Geography. I took the actual class last year, but I liked the teacher so much that I signed up to be his T.A. for this term."

"T.A.?" Kahoko asked.

"Teacher's assistant," Scott explained. "I help him out in the classroom by grading papers and making copies. Stuff like that."

"What is your fourth block?" Len asked Jennifer.

"I'm a T.A. for a chemistry class," Jennifer told him. "It's really cool. Have you guys taken a chemistry class before?"

Len nodded the same time Kahoko shook her head.

"You can hang out with me and watch me make solutions," Jennifer said. "Maybe. I do different stuff everyday. Sometimes I don't even have anything to do so I just hang out in the back and listen to my MP3 player. Come on Len," she continued. "Come with us. It'll be an adventure!"

"That is one word to describe it," Len replied.

Kahoko wondered if Len would give in to Jennifer. They were both stubborn.

"Yeah, he's going to be with us fourth block," Jennifer said to Scott.

"Excuse me," Len interjected.

Jennifer looked at him.

"Fine," he said stiffly.

"Yay! Len's with us!" Jennifer cheered. All of sudden she got a huge grin on her face and started laughing. "Oh man! Where is Alexis? What class is Alexis in right now?" she asked Scott.

Scott thought for a second. "She's in Geometry. Room 600."

Jennifer jumped up. "I have to tell her this! I'll be right back!" She dashed off.

The three remaining students stared at her retreating back.

"What just happened?" Kahoko asked Scott. "And can she just go into Alexis' class and talk to her like that?"

Scott sniggered. "Yes she can. She has this little badge from Journalism called the press pass, so she can claim to be interviewing her for a few minutes outside of class."

Len raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder what she needed to tell Alexis so badly?" Kahoko said.

Scott shrugged. "I suppose we'll find out one of these days. Now that Hurricane Jennifer has gone though, I can finish my lunch in peace." He went back to eating his sandwitch.

Len and Kahoko followed suit.

* * *

"Joining us today are two students visiting from Japan," the geography teacher announced from the front of the room. "Please," he said to Kahoko and Len, "stand up and introduce yourselves."

Kahoko stood. "Hello, my name is Kahoko."

"Hi Kahoko!" the class chorused together. Kahoko was a little surprised at the response.

"I play the violin and am staying with Jennifer." She sat down.

Len stood up. "My name is Len and—" he began briskly.

"Hi Len!"

He continued without so much as a blink. "—And I also play the violin. I am staying with Scott." He sat back down.

"Do you have girlfriend?" a girl asked him.

"No," he replied curtly.

The girls seemed shocked.

"Really?" one asked in surprise. "You're not … gay, are you?"

The girls waited breathlessly.

"I am not gay," Len said coldly.

A sigh of relief echoed across the room.

"He had me scared there for a second," a girl said.

"I know," another one agreed. "I mean, aren't the hot guys always gay nowadays?"

A few girls nodded.

"That's how it seems," one said sadly.

They all looked at Len. "Thank your for being straight!" they said happily. "There is still hope in the world for us girls after all!"

Kahoko wasn't sure how much more of this Len could take.

"Alright alright," the teacher called. "Don't frighten our guests back to Japan."

_Frighten?_ Kahoko thought. _More like irritate_ she concluded, looking over at Len.

"Who has the song of the day today?" the teacher asked.

"I do," a girl said. She rummaged around in her back and pulled out a CD and transparency.

"Song of the day?" Kahoko asked Jennifer.

"Everyday someone is responsible for bringing in a song in a language other then English. They also have to bring a transparency of the translated lyrics to put on the overhead projector as we listen to the song. Then the person who presented the song has to explain what it means."

Kahoko nodded, but Len seemed a bit skeptical. She figured he didn't think it was on his level of schooling.

* * *

"I'll meet up with you guys at Jennifer's house when I'm done running errands," Scott said as the four of them left the geography class.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Jennifer said. She glanced at the two Seiso students. "Sound good to you guys?"

Kahoko smiled and Len gave a curt nod. Scott took off to the parking lot while Jennifer, Kahoko, and Len headed of towards the science building.

"What did you tell Alexis during lunch?" Kahoko asked Jennifer.

Jennifer smirked. "You'll see."

When the trio reached the chemistry class, Jennifer opened the door and ushered them in ahead of her. "This is where I sit," she said, walking over to a desk in the back of the room and dropping her stuff down. "This is a full class so there's no empty desks. You guys can use this stools though," she said, moving some stools next to a long counter near her desk. "This counter is divided up into stations for the students to conduct labs, but there's no lab scheduled for today so you guys can sit here."

Kahoko and Len dropped their bags and sat on the stools. Then the door opened and Alex came in, followed by Ryo.

Jennifer grinned and at once Kahoko understood what she had run off to tell Alexis.

"Ryo!" Jennifer waved. "Come join the rest of the gang! Here, I'll pull you up a stool!" She grabbed another stool and put it next to Len. "Have a seat!"

Kahoko was thankful she wasn't sitting between the two guys, but she was a bit worried about what might happen between them.

"Ah, forget the desk," Jennifer said suddenly. "I'm going to sit with you guys." She grabbed another stool. "Scoot over Ryo, I'm going to sit between you and Len." Ryo gratefully moved away from Len, but Kahoko wondered if putting Jennifer between the two guys would improve the situation.

"The teacher's name is Mrs. Matthews," Jennifer said. "She's one of my favorite teachers ever!" She thought for a second. "I guess that's why I signed up to be her T.A."

"With us today we have some Japanese exchange students," Matthews announced. She looked at the Seiso students. "Would you please introduce yourselves?" she continued.

"I'm Ryo," he said with a small wave. "I'm with Alex."

"My name is Len," he said curtly. "At the moment I'm with Jennifer."

"My name's Kahoko. I'm staying with Jennifer."

"It's nice to meet you and I hope you all enjoy your time here at Del Oro," Matthews said warmly. She walked over to Jennifer and handed her a piece of paper. "Could you go make thirty copies of this? And then on your way back could you check my box and bring me a bulletin?"

"Sure," Jennifer said easily. "You guys come with me," she said to Kahoko, Len, and Ryo.

The group got up and followed her.

"You have such a beautiful school campus," Kahoko commented. "The lawns are so nice and green."

Ryo nodded. "Alex showed me the soccer fields. Both the girls' field and the guys' field are gorgeous. I'd love to play on grass like that."

"Isn't this the same building the band room is in?" Kahoko asked as the group made their way inside.

"Yes," Jennifer answered. "The band room is located on this side of the building," she said, motioning towards the hallway on the right. "The rooms we need to go to at the moment are located off the left hallway." She led them down the hallway. All of a sudden she pushed the paper into Len's hand. "You and Ryo go inside that room and use the copy machine closest to the door to make the thirty copies. Kahoko and I will go inside this room to check Matthews' box and find a bulletin." Without waiting for a reply she pushed the two guys inside the copy room and pulled Kahoko into the other room with her.

Jennifer checked Matthews' box. "Nothing today." She noticed Kahoko staring at all the boxes lining the wall.

"Does each teacher have a box?" she asked.

"Yup."

Kahoko continued to stare at the wall. "That is a lot of teachers."

Jennifer grabbed a bulletin out of box hanging near the door. "This is the bulletin," she said, showing Kahoko. "It pretty much talks about various upcoming events. Kinda like a short daily newspaper," she added. "Now let's get the real fun going," she sniggered, pulling Kahoko towards an open door near the back of the room. "This door goes into the copy room. How much you want to bet Ryo and Len haven't figured out how to use the copy machine?"

Kahoko giggled and both girls peeked around the corner of the door.

Both guys were staring at the machine.

"So, uh, I guess we put the paper here?" Ryo guessed, opening the top and setting the paper down on the glass. He frowned. "Which way does the paper go?"

Len scowled. "I would imagine you put the paper in upside down otherwise it won't be able to scan it to make the copies."

"Well excuse me," Ryo said, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry I'm not a copy machine expert, but at least I can tell the difference between a microwave and an oven."

Len glared. "Just hurry up and make the copies."

Ryo smirked and then glanced down at the buttons. "Thirty copies so I guess I punch in a three and a zero." He hit the huge green button marked START. The machine began to make some noise, and then it emitted a loud BEEP and stopped.

Len glanced at the paper tray. "You didn't put in any paper," he said coldly. "How are you supposed to print things if you don't have any paper?" He grabbed some paper off the counter, stuck it in the tray, and hit the START button again.

In a few seconds thirty copies were resting neatly in the out-put tray. Ryo pulled them out. "Alright, we're done. Let's go wait out in the hallway for the girls."

Len stared at the papers Ryo was holding.

"You're holding a stack of blank paper," he said frigidly. He opened the top of the copy machine to reveal the original paper with its writing side face up.

Jennifer and Kahoko burst out laughing.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I'm not sure if I liked this chapter as much as the others …but it's all good … In the next chapter I'm going to finish up the school day and some after school activities. I think it's going to continue to focus on Kahoko, Len, and Ryo (with more fun at Ryo and Len's expense), but by chapter 6 the other Seiso students will be back for more group fun!_

_I realized I never really clarified the English speaking skills of the group in my story. Azuma, Ryo, and Len seem like the type who would know English fairly well. Shouko might too, but she'd be the type too shy to be confident in her English skills. Keiichi would know enough to get by (since, you know, he's such a chatterbox). I could imagine Kazuki and Kahoko struggling a bit ;)_

_Foe the purpose of my story, I have them all speaking English quite well. Other then that, who knows how well their English really is …_

_Until next time!_


	5. Feathers and Doorbells

The Seiso contestants go on a trip to California to experience a different musical way of life: marching band. How will they interact with their host students and what sort of adventure lies ahead for them?

I'm not sure where this story takes place in the general storyline of La Corda d'Oro.

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda d'Oro; I am just another crazy fan girl of Tsukimori Len!

* * *

Feathers and Doorbells

Kahoko couldn't believe how close all the Del Oro band kids were. They spent two hours practicing every morning, hung out in the band room during brunch, ate lunch together, and met up yet again after school in the band room to socialize.

"How was your guys' day?" Kazuki asked as Kahoko, Len, and Ryo followed Jennifer and Alex into the band room.

"It was cool," Ryo answered, looking around.

A guy ran past him. "Hey Ryo! What's up?" Before Ryo could answer him the guy was gone. A few seconds later another guy flew by.

"Hey Ryo! I'd stop and chat, but I have to go kick Rusty's a—"

Jen kicked him in the shins. Hard.

"Ouch! What was that for? You almost tripped me! I could have died!"

"Watch your language," Jen told him with narrowed eyes.

"Oops, my bad. Anyway, I got to go find Rusty. Catch you all later!" He ran off.

Len surveyed the room with a critical eye. "Don't you individually practice after school? Do you have so much free time you can just hang out and do as you please?"

Kahoko winced. That sounded a bit harsh.

Jennifer just laughed. "Len, Len, Len," she said, shaking her head. "All work and no play make band kids a very dull and boring group. Lighten up man," she continued, patting him on the back. "For a group this size to be successful, we have to have fun together outside of marching our show."

Ryo smirked. "Like Len could ever understand that logic."

Len bristled. "Is that so bad? After all, I usually perform alone or in a small group."

"Yeah well, maybe you'll learn how to have fun with us this week," Alex said.

"Heck yes he will!" Alexis promised, coming into the room with Keiichi. They were both eating out of a huge bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos.

"How are they?" Kahoko asked Keiichi, motioning towards the bag.

"They're hot … yet cool … spicy … but they make my mouth feel … as though I have a … symphony inside …" He reached into the bag for more.

"Cool! Can I try some?" Kazuki exclaimed.

Alexis held out the bag to him.

Azuma and Shouko walked over with Brandon.

"What are you guys doing now?" Azuma asked.

"Ian's taking me on a bike ride," Kazuki said, happily munching on Flaming Hot Cheetos. "You?"

"Shouko and I are going bowling with Brandon and Jen," Azuma said.

Ryo looked over at Alex. "What are we doing?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"I don't care."

"I'll figure something out," Alex said.

"Keiichi and I are going to go by this new music store by my house. Then we're going to go get dinner and stock up on more Flaming Hot Cheetos," Alexis said.

"Kahoko and I are babysitting Len while Scott's running errands. We're going to cruise around Loomis as we make our way to my house," Jennifer explained.

Ryo sniggered. Evidently he found the babysitting Len part quite humorous.

Len didn't seem too impressed by Jennifer's choice of words.

A rubber chicken came zooming towards Kazuki's head and he jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flying fowl.

"What the …" Ryo began.

"Sorry about that," a blonde girl said, rushing over and picking up the fake bird. She turned her head and glared at a small brown-haired boy. "Jacob! You are never going to see this thing again! How many times have I told you that **CHICKENS DON'T FLY**? Especially rubber ones!" She stalked away.

"Hey! Kelsey! I didn't mean to! I swear! It wasn't my fault! I was just holding it when BAM! It flew right out of my hands!" Jacob ran after Kelsey. "I swear it won't happen again! I'll put Fred on a leash! Really!"

"I think it's time to go," Jennifer said. She motioned at Kahoko and Len. "Grab your stuff and let's get out of here before Boots and Rusty pull out their electronic hamsters."

* * *

"This is my elementary school," Jennifer announced.

The trio had walked down the street and stumbled across the local elementary school.

"I spent nine years at this school," she continued, gazing at the campus. "But it was a lot different when I went. This huge parking lot didn't exist. It was just a grassy field and playground. But enough of the history lesson! Let's go play on the playground in the back of the school!"

Before Len could protest too much, she grabbed him and Kahoko by the hand and dragged them behind her.

Kahoko thought it was bit funny that Len was holding hands with a girl, but she was also a little miffed.

"Here we have the playground!" Jennifer said excitedly. "Let's do the monkey bars!"

Kahoko thought that maybe Kazuki would have been a better playground companion then Len.

"Come on!" Jennifer called, swinging across the bars.

Kahoko laughed and jogged over to join her.

"Len!" Jennifer yelled at him. "You're missing out on all the fun!"

He stared at her. "You two may be short enough to move around comfortably on that structure, but I am taller then you."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll go on the swings then. And don't even try to pull the too tall excuse on us."

The girls hurried over to the swings and jumped on.

"I haven't been on the swings in forever," Kahoko breathed. "I forgot how much fun they are!"

Jennifer smiled. "The swings were always my favorite part of the playground." She glared over at Len, who still hadn't moved. "Kahoko, something must be done about that guy. He needs to loosen up. He's kind of on a vacation now, he should relax and have fun."

Kahoko thought for a second. "I don't know if he knows how," she replied honestly.

An evil glint came into Jennifer's eyes. Kahoko knew she was up to something. Her thoughts were confirmed when Jennifer said something to her, loud enough for her to hear, but quiet enough that Len didn't notice.

The two girls jumped off the swings and walked over to Len.

"Ready to go?" Kahoko asked.

"Yes." Len turned to walk away.

"NOW!" Jennifer cried.

Kahoko and Jennifer each grabbed one of Len's arms and dragged him to the swings. Before he could quite comprehend what was happening they shoved him down on one of the swings.

"Quick!" Kahoko exclaimed. "Give him a push!"

Both girls leaned forward and together gave Len a huge shove in the back. He began to swing back and forth.

"What the … what do you think you're doing?!" he demanded angrily. Rather then waiting for the swing to stop moving he jumped off.

The girls cheered.

"Len got on the swings!" Kahoko grinned.

"And he even jumped off!" Jennifer laughed.

"Yay for Len!" they cried in unison.

Len refused to talk to them during the twenty-minute walk back to Jennifer's house. He followed, radiating a frosty aura of extreme irritation.

* * *

"Welcome to my living quarters," Jennifer said, kicking of her shoes. Kahoko and Len followed her lead.

"Are you guys thirsty? Hungry? Should I break out the after school snacks?" she asked them.

"Water is fine," Len said coldly.

"How about you Kahoko? I've got milk, water, apple juice, orange soda …" her voice trailed off.

"Apple juice sounds good."

Jennifer got a water and two apple juices and joined Len and Kahoko at the table. The she jumped back up and ran back to the refrigerator. She returned to the table with a huge bowl of grapes.

"I love grapes," she said, munching happily.

Kahoko grabbed a few and popped them in her mouth. Mmmm. These ones were nice and sweet. She made a move to push the bowl towards Len, but he shook his head.

"I don't know what time Scott's going to come by so who knows how much time we have to kill," Jennifer said, getting up to refill her cup. She sat back down. "What do you guys want to do?"

"You don't have homework?" Kahoko asked curiously.

Jennifer grinned. "Nope! I don't get homework in any of my classes this term. Well, I have to practice my trumpet, but that's it."

Kahoko figured Len was wondering what kind of grades Jennifer got, but he probably thought it was none of his business to ask. She wasn't completely certain, but something was telling her that Jennifer was one of those students who didn't really study but still managed to get high scores in her classes.

Jennifer jumped up. "Let's go outside! I'll introduce you to Joe!" She herded Len and Kahoko outside to the backyard.

Kahoko glanced around, expecting to see a dog, or perhaps a cat.

"Joe!" Jennifer called.

From around the corner of the house came a small, white … chicken? Kahoko blinked. Yeah, that was a chicken. Well, a rooster to be exact.

"Hey Joe," Jennifer said, squatting down. Joe walked right up to her and stuck his feathery head into her hand. "Did you have a nice day?" She scooped him up in her arms and turned to face a surprised Kahoko and Len. "This is Kahoko," she told Joe. "And the guy over there wearing the grumpy-pants is Len."

"You have a rooster?" Kahoko asked, fascinated.

"Yup," Jennifer said proudly. "He's my buddy. My family found him wandering around the neighborhood and no one claimed him so he's been living with us ever since. Let him touch your hand," she said. "The he'll know you're a friend."

Kahoko looked nervously at Joe's cruel looking beak.

"It's okay," Jennifer assured her. "He's a gentle little guy."

Kahoko hesitantly stuck her hand out at Joe. He leaned towards it and gently pecked at it. "That tickles!" she giggled.

"Aww, Joe gave you a kiss on the hand," Jennifer smiled. She looked over at Len. "Your turn." She walked right next to him.

With a look clearly saying he'd rather be doing anything except petting a chicken, he stuck his hand out. Joe pecked it lightly and then without warning beat his wings and hopped out of Jennifer's arms into Len's.

"Oh look! Joe made a new friend!" Kahoko laughed.

Jennifer pulled a camera out of her pocket and snapped a few pictures.

Len gave her a death glare.

Jennifer glared back. "Don't worry, these pictures are just for Joe. I'll print them out and decorate his chicken coop with them since I'm sure he's going to miss you when you leave."

Len stared at her, his glare replaced by a look of slight confusion. "You're going to put pictures up in his chicken coop? Does that even make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," Jennifer replied. Then she smiled. "You and Joe look so cute." She peered at Joe. "Aww! He fell asleep in your arms! That's so adorable!" she cried, snapping more pictures. She leaned towards Kahoko. "I'll make copies for you," she promised.

Len looked frustrated, but he was too much of a gentleman to disturb the sleeping bird in his arms.

* * *

"So how was it?" Scott asked as Len on the way out of Jennifer's house.

"Come back and visit Joe again one of these days!" Jennifer yelled at Len's retreating back from her front porch.

Scott laughed. "She introduced you to Joe? I've met him, but for some reason he doesn't like me. He actually chased me around the yard and I swear he gives me death glares. How was he with you?"

"He hopped out of Jennifer's arms into mine and then promptly fell asleep," Len replied frigidly.

"No way!" Scott said. "That's awesome! I wish he liked me … Do you have any pets at home?" he asked.

"No," Len said.

"Maybe you should get a chicken," Scott suggested. "I mean, if Joe a.k.a. the devil chicken of Satan likes you, I'm sure every chicken does. You could be the chicken whisperer and talk to chickens. Maybe you could play your violin for them," he added.

Len shot him a look.

"Or not," Scott said.

* * *

"Hey Kahoko, do you like horror movies?" Jennifer asked.

"They're … um … okay," Kahoko replied. "Why?"

"I have this one I want to see, but I don't want to watch it by myself. I'm a huge coward when it comes to scary movies. Want to watch it with me?"

"Actually, I'm a huge coward when it comes to horror movies too," Kahoko admitted. "But they're fun to watch with a friend." She glanced outside. "And it's still light out so we should be okay, right?"

"Cool!" Jennifer exclaimed. She hunted around for the DVD and stuck it in the player. She and Kahoko curled up on opposite sides of the couch.

By the end of the movie they were both huddled together in the middle of the couch, covering their eyes yet peering out between the cracks in their fingers.

"Oh my god," Kahoko said. "He's at her door getting ready to ring the doorbell!"

"Whatever you do: don't answer the door when the doorbells rings!" Jennifer yelled at the screen.

DING DONG! DING DONG!

Both girls let out bloodcurdling shrieks of terror and jumped about five feet into the air.

"My doorbell is ringing," Jennifer said dumbly.

"Don't answer it!" Kahoko cried.

Both girls clutched on to each other tighter.

DING DONG!

They screamed again.

"Jennifer!" Alex called from the porch. "Are you guys alright?"

"Kahoko!" Ryo yelled. "What are you guys doing?"

The girls stared at each other.

Jennifer got up and opened the door. "What the heck is wrong with you guys? We're watching a horror movie! Don't you _ever_ ring my doorbell when someone's about to be murdered! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," the guys said timidly.

"What are you here for anyway?" Kahoko asked, coming up from behind Jennifer. "And I paused the movie," she added.

"I need to pick up those music books I loaned you," Alex said to Jennifer.

"Oh, okay." She grabbed a few books off the counter and put them into Alex's arms. "Here you go."

"Um, I guess we'll let you guys get back to your murderer," Ryo said.

"Sounds like a plan," Jennifer said.

"See you guys at school tomorrow!" Kahoko said, waving goodbye.

Jennifer shut the door and made sure it was locked. "Just in case," she said to Kahoko.

"I understand," Kahoko replied.

The girls looked at each other and raced back to the couch.

DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG!

This time the sound came from the movie screen.

The girls jumped five feet in the air and released some more banshee screams.

From the car outside Alex and Ryo just looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

_Another chapter written and done! What did you think? Is Len acting Len enough, or is he turning into someone else? Chicken Joe is based off my pet rooster. He's my buddy; we hang out together in the backyard and eat corn chips together. I love that chicken._

_The next chapter is going to be cool! The Seiso students are going to perform at both lunches for the Del Oro students and then go to the night band practice held every Tuesday night (finally some music)! Do I sense more Del Oro fan girls for the Seiso guys?_

_Until next time!_


End file.
